Marine colonial expansion is a policy according to which the richest countries of the Old World traded with or dependent on dependent territories on other continents. Over time, it turned into a race of leading powers fighting for world domination.
Background
European colonial expansion began in the 15th-16th centuries, at the dawn of the era of great geographical discoveries. In the Late Middle Ages in the countries of the Old World, rare and exotic goods from the countries of the East were especially appreciated in the markets . For example, these were spices that allowed storing food for a long time. Now it seems funny, but it was the nutmeg that was then worth its weight in gold.
At the same time, the Renaissance began in Europe, which was accompanied by an increase in scientific knowledge. Colonial expansion is, first of all, a large fleet. The first ships of a new type, which could cross the ocean and leave the inland seas, appeared in Portugal and Spain. These were young kingdoms that had just been created in territories liberated from Muslims.
With the money of merchants and, partly, with state support, brave sailors began to seek the sea route to rich India. To do this, it was necessary to go around Africa. In 1492, the Spanish expedition led by Christopher Columbus went a different way - right to the west. And discovered America. Colonial expansion of the colonial countries arose precisely because of this event.
Spanish expansion
Spain became the first large colonial empire . It was under its flags that sailors discovered America. The Spanish kings hoped to find gold and silver on the new mainland. Noble metals really were in the Andes. When this became known for certain, crowds of adventurers rushed to America.
The silver mines of Peru allowed Spain to become the most powerful European state in the 16th century. Colonial expansion is also inhumane treatment of local residents in dependent territories. Native Americans became the first victims of European imperial interests. They were dying in millions of deadly diseases. In addition, the Catholic Church played an important role in Spain. The monarchy set the task of baptizing all pagans from distant lands. This policy encouraged the atrocities of the Inquisition.
During the heyday of the Spanish colonial empire, all of Central and South America belonged. The only exceptions in this region were the territories in which Brazil later appeared. These lands belonged to Portugal.
Portuguese colonies
If Spain mastered America, then Portugal was more busy establishing reliable trade relations with India. This was the main difference between the two first colonial empires. The Spaniards tried to conquer the land in the depths of new continents. The Portuguese, on the contrary, did not leave the coastal areas. Here were built trading forts. Through them, new goods went to Europe.
These were spices, ivory, and other luxuries. More important was the discovery of American crops: potatoes, tomatoes, corn, etc. The diet of Europeans was changing before our eyes. Vigorous merchants made huge fortunes on the monopoly trade in these rare goods. The beginning of colonial expansion was distinguished by the fact that they took up it largely from adventuristic considerations. When it became clear that the new lands promised huge profits, the new European powers joined the race. Trade wars have become commonplace.
The decline of Spain, the rise of England
In the 17th century, the Spanish colonial empire fell into decay. There were several reasons. The monarchy spent all its American gold on the maintenance of armies and costly wars in Europe. At this time, another round of conflict between Catholics and Protestants erupted in the Old World. The Thirty Years' War began, and mercenary armies, bought with Spanish money, invaded Germany and the Netherlands. Because of its ingenuous policy, Spain has lost all the advantages that were given to it at the very beginning of the colonial race.
England became the main enemy of the Madrid court. In this country in the XVII century a bourgeois revolution took place, which left the absolute monarchy in the past. Free trade and capitalism developed in the country. A powerful fleet soon appeared.
British empire
The directions of colonial expansion of England were very different. The first settlements to appear in North America. Already in the XVIII century, James Cook discovered distant Australia, which completely passed to Great Britain. The pearl of the English crown has become India. The first colonies here were still Portuguese, but over time, Lisbon lost the economic struggle to London and, for the most part, peacefully sold its possessions.
The local Indian population professed a variety of religions - Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. There were a huge number of nationalities on the subcontinent, because of which there was constant political fragmentation. Partly this, and partly technological superiority allowed the British in the XIX century to completely capture the country. Indian colonial expansion is a great example of how the economy of a subordinate country worked for the mother country.
The fate of America
The British settlements in North America also developed rapidly. In this region, over time, their colonies appeared in France and the Netherlands. But it was the confrontation between Paris and London that became the main one on the mainland. At the end of the 18th century, the English colonies proclaimed their independence and formed the United States of America. The new state has independently explored and populated the western territories.
A similar fate awaited the Spanish colonies. At the beginning of the XIX century, the inhabitants of South American countries declared war on independence from the mother country, which they successfully won. Thus, only one large region remained, not yet divided between the European colonial powers. It was Africa. The war for her was yet to come.
The fight for Africa
For a long time, Europeans remained only on the coast of Africa. From here, the colonialists took a huge number of slaves, who were transported by ship to America. There, blacks' labor was used as cheap labor. The concept of colonial expansion necessarily includes discrimination of the local population, which (as the inhabitants of Africa) became slavish.
But the real section of the "black continent" occurred in the second half of the 19th century. By that time, slavery was already abolished in most European countries, which, however, made the treatment of local residents not much more humane. On the eve of World War I, in Africa there were colonies of various countries: France, Great Britain, Portugal, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The last to join the race for territory were the newly formed Germany and Italy.
The First World War began as a dispute over supremacy in Europe, but it also affected the repartition of the colonies. It was then that the Entente countries received mandates in the Middle East. This region has long belonged to the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), which collapsed. The Arab territories were mainly taken over by Great Britain, however, their legal status was already very different from previous colonies.
Colony abandonment
The 20th century passed under the banner of decolonization. It was a process of gaining independence by the countries of Africa, the Middle East, India, etc. It became especially active after the end of World War II. Former African colonies and now bear the imprint of their former belonging to their metropolises. In such countries, the official language is usually English or French (in addition to the national dialect).
The largest colonial power - Great Britain - created the Commonwealth, within the framework of which it actively cooperates with its former colonies today.